Behind Enemy Lines

An American recruitment film, decently put together, with a surprisingly believable Wilson in an unusual role for him, but with an incredibly shitty ending that veers into unintended self-parody. The American audience may have cheered, stomped and clapped at the final scene in the cinema, but I was almost ashamed of its makers. The only positive I could see in this film is that it at least a little bit, albeit very distortedly, brings to light a great stain of European history, i.e. the Bosnian military conflict, which otherwise, with some exceptions, still escapes the interest of filmmakers. (05/09/2003)

The terrible "genre" ending completely unnecessarily demolishes the precisely built construction of a dynamic action film with a surprisingly civilian hero and very functional modernist tricks in the direction and camera. Moore struck a tolerable tone that trumped the recruitment subtext and the rather dubious Bosnian backdrop. He manages to maintain the anxiety and, thanks to the quick edit and the aforementioned modern effects, also great momentum, which unfortunately is ultimately completely crushed during the ending by the pathetic musical accompaniment and the overall disgusting conception (the looks of the individual actors are literally the thematicization of all the cheese that can be stuffed into an American war film). But I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like the film - it lived up to its genre fully, it entertained, tensed and flew by. If you want to see a Bosnian conflict at an intellectual depth, watch No Man's Land instead. (29/10/2005)

Unfortunately, the awfully pathetic scene of the rescue at the end spoils the overall impression of the film and brings it down to average. The brilliant technical aspect, on the other hand, certainly does not go unnoticed. The airplane crash is incredibly realistic, and most of the action scenes are a strong experience under the firm guidance of the director and sound engineers. Owen Wilson was surprisingly a very good choice, as was veteran Gene Hackman on the other side. The script may be simple, but the war themes are presented in a well-balanced manner, and the Serbian conflict is certainly interesting enough to keep the viewer on their toes, even though it is handed to us in a typically American mainstream fashion. (22/01/2006)

A classic film about an American soldier getting lost somewhere, fighting for his life, while the military does everything, or at least something, to rescue him. Owen Wilson is pretty good here because a lot of it is based on him, as well as Hackman, but he stays mostly in the office. Quite gritty in places, but not surprising. (24/03/2017)